Old-growth in contentious Fairy Creek region could be worth more standing than logged

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Canada’s National Observer
June 30th, 2021

Ancient forests at the centre of a dispute around old-growth logging in B.C. are worth more standing in terms of tourism and ecosystem services, a new study finds. Photo by TJ Watt.

A new economic study shows ancient trees in the contentious Fairy Creek region on southern Vancouver Island are worth considerably more standing to nearby communities than if they were cut down.

And it confirms investments and efforts by the former forestry hub of Port Renfrew to rebrand itself as an ecotourism hot spot are right on track, business leaders say.

Protecting all the old-growth forests in the study area near Port Renfrew could result in an additional $40 million in net economic benefits over the next 100 years compared to logging as usual, said Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance, which commissioned the independent research.

The cost-benefit analysis indicates carbon storage or sequestration, recreation, tourism, coho salmon habitat, non-timber forest products like floral greenery and mushrooms, along with research or education opportunities are worth more than timber extraction alone, Inness said.

“The findings are significant because they tell us that old-growth forests are not being managed in the broader public’s best interest,” Inness said.

“We need to see the province start making decisions around old-growth management that are in the best interest of all British Columbians — and not just the forest sector.”

Traditional economic analyses typically don’t tally up valuable ecosystem services that old-growth forests provide for free, says Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA). Photo courtesy AFA

The two-and-a-half-year study focused on the province’s Arrowsmith Timber Supply area in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nations’ territories within a 35-kilometre radius of Port Renfrew, said Inness.

As only a portion of harvestable forests near Port Renfrew were analyzed, the study actually underestimates the overall value of standing old-growth, she said.

Ancient forests in the Port Renfrew region have been at the centre of old-growth logging blockades by Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) activists since August.

Both the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht have asked the protesters to leave the region so they can develop a regional integrated resource management plan, but protesters have remained, with close to 350 people arrested as of Monday.

“With much existing and potential tourism value to be gained from #OldGrowth, it makes economic sense to keep what’s left standing,” says Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC @TIABC_CA. #FairyCreek #BCpoli

And the NDP government is under increasing public pressure at home and abroad to take more action to protect remaining at-risk, old-growth forests throughout the province.

The new study reflects the economic changes that Port Renfrew is experiencing on the ground, said Karl Ablack, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.

If all old-growth forests examined were protected, tourism itself would nearly make up for losses associated with timber extraction by adding an equivalent number of jobs and covering 66 per cent of the losses to GDP, the study said.

The economy of Port Renfrew, formerly a thriving resource community until the 1970s and ’80s, stalled with severe declines in forestry and the commercial fishing industry, Ablack said.

But the small community has revived itself over the last 20 to 25 years, first as a result of recreational fishing, and has since diversified into other ecotourism activities, including big tree tourism, he said.

In 2016, the community’s chamber put forth a resolution to the BC Chamber to support the protection of old-growth forests in areas where these forests had greater tourism value left standing. The resolution was unanimously adopted, noted Ablack.

Big Lonely Doug, believed to be one of the largest Douglas firs in Canada, was discovered alone in a clear-cut near Port Renfrew in 2014. Photo by TJ Watt

Selling itself as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada, people flock from around the globe to visit the gnarly giants in the now-protected Avatar Grove, or Big Lonely Doug, a massive Douglas fir that stands alone in a clear-cut.

A strict visitor count has yet to be done, but approximately 5,000 cars a day travel to Port Renfrew during the height of summer via the Pacific Marine Circle Route — a loop on southern Vancouver Island featuring the region’s wild beaches and majestic forests, Ablack said.

“And there are days at Avatar Grove or at Lonely Doug where you can have 200 cars lined up on the side of the road,” he said.

“The numbers in the recent study have been very important to help quantify some of that data.”

Tourism is a core industry across the province, and virtually every community relies on revenue and employment generated from visitors, especially as pandemic travel restrictions ease, said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC), in a statement.

International tourists in particular are keen to experience B.C.’s natural beauty not found anywhere else, he said.

“With much existing and potential tourism value to be gained from old-growth, it makes economic sense to keep what’s left standing,” Judas added.

Beyond a focus on tourism revenue, traditional economic analyses typically don’t tally up the valuable ecosystem services old-growth forests provide for free, and which are increasingly important as climate change intensifies, Inness said.

“If you only consider short-term job creation, revenues and impacts to GDP, the economics aren’t telling the whole story,” Inness said, adding old rainforests store large amounts of carbon above and below ground and release carbon slowly as they decay.

And harvesting ancient groves sends more carbon into the atmosphere than can be compensated for by tree-planting or creating secondary wood products, she said.

Carbon storage is the biggest economic benefit to justify leaving old-growth standing and to reduce the massive financial burdens climate change is having, she added.

If old-growth in the study region was left alone, forest carbon emissions would be reduced by 569,250 tonnes, she said.

“This fact seems particularly timely, given B.C. is hitting record high temperatures,” Inness said.

Though the Pacheedahts recently asserted their right to determine how forest resources should be used in their territory, the nation is also heavily invested in ecotourism — owning a gas station, general store, and a resort, as well as recently securing $1 million in COVID-19 relief funding to expand and upgrade its campsite.

Port Renfrew’s regional director, Mike Hicks, believes the community would still be an ecotourism destination if old-growth logging continued. Photo courtesy of Mike Hicks

Mike Hicks, director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, which includes Port Renfrew, said logging will likely remain part of the region’s economy no matter what decisions are eventually made around old-growth.

Even if some old-growth logging continues, Hicks believes Port Renfrew’s economy is diversified enough to weather any limited damage to the community’s brand.

The area still boasts world-class recreational fishing, numerous beaches, surfing at Jordan River, excellent accommodations and restaurants, and Port Renfrew is still an entry point for the iconic West Coast Trail, he said.

And now with the availability of satellite internet services and the province’s recent commitment to extend cell service along Highway 14 between Sooke and Port Renfrew, the town has everything it needs to consolidate its reputation as a destination location, Hicks said.

“There is no stopping Port Renfrew,” Hicks said.

“It’s not going to live or die on old-growth logging because it’s got so much going for it.”

But keeping old-growth in the region has greater inherent value economically, Ablack said, adding second- or third-growth logging is likely to continue.

“Do I see logging going away? Absolutely not,” Ablack said.

“Do we need to redirect it to better serve sustainability? Certainly, we can look at that.”

[Editor’s Note: This story was updated Friday, July 2 to clarify the study examined harvestable old-growth in the provincial timber supply area within 35 kilometres of Port Renfrew – not all harvestable forests in that radius.]

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Thank you to our generous business supporters!

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We’re humbled by the support we receive from the local community, including the following businesses for organizing independent fundraisers in support of the ancient forest campaign:

Patagonia Vancouver for donating proceeds from hemp masks.

The organizers of the Ancient Trees 30-Day Art Challenge & Fundraiser. Each day until the end of May, a unique piece of nature-themed art was available for purchase with 50% of the proceeds designated for the AFA.

Spirit Roots Company teamed up with Mountain Moon Studio to raise awareness about BC’s ancient forests and raise funds for the AFA.

Windfall Carvings is donating proceeds from handmade artwork made from reclaimed wood, available at the Old School House Art Centre in Qualicum Beach. Visit their Facebook page to learn more.

MW Motor Werke for their generous monthly donations

The staff at Later for choosing the AFA for a workplace prize donation

Heart & Hands Health Collective for their generous support

Sarah Pike Pottery for donating partial proceeds from recent pottery sales

Heart & Hands Health Collective for their generous support.

To the organizers of the Ancient Trees 30-Day Art Challenge & Fundraiser. Unique nature-themed art is available for purchase with 50% of the proceeds designated for the AFA.

and Tantalus Design for generously donating year after year

Thank you again for your support! If you or your business would like to organize a fundraiser to support the AFA, please contact us at info@16.52.162.165 to learn more.

BC’s new old-growth advisory panel ‘a glimmer of hope’ for ancient forests

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Canada’s National Observer
June 25, 2021

Environmentalists struggling to save diminishing ancient forests on Canada’s West Coast are hopeful after BC announced a new old-growth advisory panel staffed by respected foresters and scientists.

“The technical panel is a very welcome positive step forward,” said Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“It really gives me a glimmer of hope the province is going to listen to science around the state of old-growth forests.”

The new technical panel will ensure the province is using the best science and data available to identify at-risk old-growth ecosystems and prioritize the areas slated for old-growth logging deferrals, said BC Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy on Thursday.

“We are committed to a science-based approach to old-growth management, and our work with the advisory panel will help us break down barriers between the different interpretations of data that are out there,” Conroy said in a press statement.

The panel includes ecologists Rachel Holt and Karen Price, forest policy expert and environmental economist Lisa Matthaus, and foresters Garry Merkel and Dave Daust.

What people are reading

The appointments come as the NDP government is facing mounting public pressure, both at home and abroad, to make good on its promise to protect the most at-risk tracts of BC’s iconic ancient forests. Protests calling for action have been occurring across the province, and hundreds of activists have been arrested at old-growth blockades in the Fairy Creek watershed on southwest Vancouver Island in Premier John Horgan’s riding.

The choice of panellists suggests the province is finally acknowledging the data and science behind the independent Last Stand report written by Holt, Price and Daust that indicates the dire state of at-risk forest ecosystems in BC, Inness said.

The report, often cited by environmental groups (ENGOs), suggests that only three per cent of BC’s remaining old forests support massive ancient trees.

“To date, we have not seen or heard the province accept those scientific findings or embrace and make decisions based on them,” Inness said.

The inclusion of Merkel — an author of the old-growth strategic review that includes 14 recommendations the province has committed to implement to shift forestry away from a focus on timber extraction to prioritizing biodiversity — is also a positive sign, she added.

“It really gives me a glimmer of hope the province is going to listen to science around the state of #OldGrowth forests,” says Andrea Inness, @ancientforestbc, of BC’s new advisory panel that will identify at-risk areas for logging deferrals. 

“I hope this signals a turning point in the province’s approach to implementing the old-growth (review) recommendations,” she said.

“And that the province understands we can’t get anywhere if we don’t see eye-to-eye on the crisis at hand and the state of old-growth forests.”

The province has come under fire by ENGOs, which suggest it has grossly exaggerated the amount of at-risk old-growth it protected through logging deferrals in nine areas across the province made in September.

Inness hopes the panel’s input will rectify the government’s claim it has protected 200,000 hectares of old-growth.

“I still have concerns, because we continue to see the province use misleading figures around the state of old-growth forests and what they’ve done so far,” Inness said.

“You know much of that forest is not what the average British Columbia would consider old-growth. It is low-productivity forest with smaller trees, and much of that area is already protected.”

The panel will be providing advice around high-priority areas for deferrals, but won’t be making any decisions, which will result from government-to-government discussions with Indigenous nations, Conroy said at a press conference Thursday.

In addition to identifying high-priority at-risk areas for deferral, the panel will help develop a common understanding of the broader issues around at-risk forest ecosystems, Holt told Canada’s National Observer.

“We’re hoping along the way we can increase the understanding and transparency of information around the issues of old-growth forests in the province,” Holt said.

There has been a lot of different or competing data presented from various stakeholders around old-growth forests, and it’s resulting in public mistrust, she said, noting the old-growth review called for better public information on at-risk forests.

“We’re hoping the panel can clear up a lot of that miscommunication, and really help the public, so everyone has a baseline understanding of the state of old-growth in the province,” Holt said.

“What really is and isn’t at risk. How much there is. You know, all these questions there’s been a lot of conversation about over the last couple of years.”

However, Conroy would not clarify when or if the panel’s information around the priority deferral areas would become public, saying, eventually some information would be released.

“The advice will be confidential, but it’ll help us to inform those really important government-to-government discussions on future deferrals,” Conroy said, adding more deferrals are expected this summer.

Jens Wieting of Sierra Club BC said he hoped the panel appointment signalled the province would no longer delay action around the promised paradigm shift in forest stewardship.

Interim old-growth deferrals are vital to ensure the most at-risk forests aren’t being logged as discussions with First Nations occur, Wieting said.

“But I’d like to repeat how important it is that the government act quickly, and announce funding with the explicit purpose to increase protections, and give First Nations and communities some hope they’ll be supported through this transition,” he said.

Holt also hopes the panel’s work will mark a shift in forestry policy in the province.

“The government taking the step of putting this group together really helps us move along that track,” she said, adding little progress has been made to date.

“I want to be optimistic that this is the beginning of the paradigm shift. And time will tell us if that is correct.”

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New economic report highlights need for funding to support Indigenous-led old-growth protection and sustainable economic development.

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The Ancient Forest Alliance has released a report that considers the economic implications of protecting old-growth forests when taking ecosystem services like carbon storage, recreation, tourism, salmon habitat, and other values into account.

The study, which took 2.5 years to complete, uses old-growth forests near Port Renfrew, in the territories of the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nations, as a case study. 

The intention of this study was not to unilaterally determine how old-growth forests should be managed at a local scale. Rather, it considers many potential old-growth logging/protection scenarios to better understand what’s possible and explores the economic benefits and implications of those scenarios in order to provide a useful resource to inform land-use decision-making.

The BC government’s Old Growth Strategic Review Panel recommended the province develop local and provincial transition plans and support communities in transitioning their economies while pursuing science-based old-growth protection. We hope this study, which explores alternative uses and economic benefits of standing old-growth forests, can assist in that work.

The AFA’s mandate is to work within the law to advocate for policy change to protect endangered old-growth ecosystems, and to support First Nations and rural communities to find solutions that support ecological, economic, and community wellbeing.

We are calling for old-growth logging deferrals, upon the consent of First Nations, in the most at-risk old-growth ecosystems, as described by the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel, while long-term conservation solutions are found. 

We are also working to leverage provincial and federal funding to assist land-embedded communities, including First Nations, to undertake land-use planning, develop new protected areas (including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas), and support sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging.

New study reveals old-growth forests are worth more to BC economy standing than logged

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Old-growth forests in BC contribute far more economic benefit to society when kept standing, according to a new independent study released today by the Ancient Forest Alliance.

The study, conducted by environmental consulting firm ESSA Technologies, compares ecosystem services including carbon storage/sequestration, recreation, tourism, coho salmon habitat, non-timber forest products like floral greenery and mushrooms, and research/education opportunities to timber harvest and concludes that society is better off when old-growth forests are protected rather than logged.

Read the full report: https://16.52.162.165/old-growth-economic-report/

Using old-growth forests located in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht territories near Port Renfrew – where independent protesters have been blockading old-growth logging for ten months – as a case study, the analysis is the first of its kind on Vancouver Island and provides a striking example of the tremendous economic benefits should the province fulfil its commitment to protect old-growth forests. 

The study uses computer modelling, provincial forest harvest data, and both market and non-market values for ecosystem services to compare the net benefits of protecting old-growth forests across 17 different scenarios ranging from minimal (30%) to full (100%) old-growth protection. 

The analysis shows society would be better off under all 17 old-growth protection scenarios, with the main economic drivers being carbon storage/sequestration (which reduces the significant costs of mitigating climate change), tourism, and recreation. For example, protecting all old-growth forests in the study area would contribute an additional $40 million in net economic benefits over the next 100 years compared to business as usual, more than making up for the economic losses from forgone timber harvest. Forest carbon emissions would be reduced by 569,250 tonnes of carbon and tourism and recreation alone would contribute almost $11 million in net benefits to society. 

Because the study is based on only a portion of harvestable old-growth near Port Renfrew and isn’t inclusive of all ecosystem services, like cultural values, the study’s findings are underestimates of the true value of standing old-growth. Nevertheless, they present a strong economic case for keeping old-growth forests standing. 

A secondary analysis was also done to assess the impact to the provincial economy of old-growth protection in the area by comparing the effects of the 17 scenarios on GDP and jobs from timber harvest and tourism. Results show that, if all old-growth forests were protected in the study area, tourism alone would nearly make up for any losses from not harvesting by adding an equivalent number of jobs and covering 66% of the losses to GDP. While not considered in the study, local benefits of old-growth protection from additional revenue streams like carbon offsets, sustainable fisheries, and value-added wood manufacturing could also increase.

With the NDP government having committed to implementing all of the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s recommendations and overhauling BC’s forest policies, there is a critical window of opportunity for the province to begin to manage old-growth forests in a way that benefits all British Columbians, not just special interests. 

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the province to immediately halt logging in BC’s most at-risk old-growth forests and commit significant funding for First Nations’ sustainable economic development, as an alternative to old-growth logging, and Indigenous protected areas that conserve old-growth forests. 

QUOTES:

Walt Judas, CEO, Tourism Industry Association of BC – “Tourism is one of BC’s core industries and I’m confident that, as travel restrictions ease, we’ll see the sector begin to recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Virtually every community throughout the province relies on tourism and the revenues and employment opportunities generated by visitors. Much of this growth is driven by international tourists keen to experience BC’s natural beauty, including our rare and majestic old-growth forests. With much existing and potential tourism value to be gained from old-growth, it makes economic sense to keep what’s left standing.” 

Scott Benton, Executive Director, Wilderness Tourism Association of BC – “Scores of wilderness tourism businesses in BC rely on healthy, functioning ecosystems, including intact and protected old-growth forests and monumental trees, for their revenues. Continued logging of these irreplaceable forests not only adversely affects the wilderness tourism sector, it damages BC’s reputation as a wilderness destination through the loss of wilderness experience.”  

Karl Ablack, President, Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. In 2016 the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce put forth a resolution to the BC Chamber to support the protection of old growth forests in areas where these forests had greater tourism value left standing. This resolution was unanimously adopted.  – “This new study is consistent with what we’re seeing on the ground here in Port Renfrew. Thanks to increased international and domestic tourism and recreation tied to old-growth forests, tourism business revenues in town have gone up dramatically in the last decade. And as a developer, I’ve seen how increased interest in purchasing property, opening new businesses, and building homes has led to higher real estate values in the region.” 

Jim Pojar, Ph.D., R.P.Bio., forest ecologist – “Old-growth temperate rainforests, including those found here in BC, store more carbon per hectare than any other forest type on Earth. As this new economic analysis illustrates, some of the enormous costs associated with mitigating climate change and the massive carbon emissions from old-growth logging could be avoided if we simply stopped cutting down these valuable carbon stores.”  

Duncan Knowler, report co-author, Simon Fraser University associate professor – “When the province makes decisions to log old-growth forests without considering the many ecosystem services they provide like clean water, tourism and recreation, habitat, greenhouse gas mitigation, and more, they’re essentially saying these other benefits are worth nothing. This paints an incomplete picture of what ancient forests are truly worth and, in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis, it’s not how land-use decisions should be made.” “This exciting new study builds upon our 2008 work to assign an economic value to old-growth spotted owl habitat in the Lower Mainland’s Fraser Timber Supply Area. It shows that there are innovative valuation tools for ecosystem services at our fingertips that can and should be used to make better decisions about how our irreplaceable old-growth forests are managed.” 

Andrea Inness, Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance – “This study shows that local economies – and the broader provincial economy – both stand to benefit when we protect old-growth forests. It directly contradicts the BC Forest Minister’s argument that it’s too costly to halt logging in at-risk old-growth due to its timber value. It’s now up to the province to decide whether they’ll use this new information to improve decision-making and whether they’ll support communities in realizing the economic value of intact, protected old-growth forests.”

TJ Watt, Campaigner and Photographer, Ancient Forest Alliance – “The BC government is failing to manage old-growth forests in the public’s best interests. By continuing to allow status quo old-growth logging, they’re putting the interests of the timber industry ahead of other sectors and the BC economy as a whole. The province must step forward with significant funding for First Nations and forest-based communities in order to support new protected areas and sustainable economic diversification.” 

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Photos: Caycuse Logging From Above

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Aerial images captured in June 2021 highlight the brutal impact of old-growth logging in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory. The original 33 hectare-clearcut from Teal-Jones, where the now-famed ‘before & after’ images were taken, stands out on a shocking scale.

Photos: Bugaboo Ridge Ancient Forest

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New photos from June 2021 show at-risk ancient forests along the ridgeline of Bugaboo Creek near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory.

Large red and yellow cedars, along with hemlock and amabilis fir, abound. Trilliums, berry bushes, and hellebore carpet the forest floor where animal trails from bear, deer, and cougar wind through.

Teal-Jones has approved road permits in this forest, the construction of which was partially completed before being blocked by independent activists but could resume soon. Though no cutting permits have yet been issued, “falling boundary” flagging tape can be seen throughout the forest, which falls outside the recently announced deferral areas, leaving it open for logging.

Ending Horgan’s War against Old Growth

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The Tyee
June 14, 2021

I’ve fought to save forests for 40 years. It’s time for real change.

TealJonesClearcut.jpg
NDP forest policies are just more ‘talk and log,’ writes veteran environmentalist Vicky Husband. This recent old-growth clearcut is adjacent to the Fairy Creek Valley. Photo by T.J. Watt.

Let’s call Premier John Horgan’s forest policies what they are — a colonial defence of talk and log and a moral failure to protect the province’s remaining old-growth forests.

Horgan has sparked a brutal new war in the woods by denying two realities: our forests have been massively overcut for little added value, and we are now nearing the long-predicted end of our old-growth forests.

In this regard Horgan and his government share with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro a disregard for the value, work and beauty of primary ancient forests. 

For more than 40 years now I have fought to save ancient complex forests from corporate chainsaws on Meares Island, and later Clayoquot Sound, South Moresby/Gwaii Haanas, the Khutzeymateen and more.

I did so because I saw these forests not solely as a source of giant trees, but also as groundwater regulators, carbon holders, medicine makers, water filters, biodiversity bankers, fungal communicators, salmon guardians and rainmakers.

We won a few battles, but we never saved enough ancient forest. After every protest, the government dutifully promised to reform the industrial logging system. And then the clear cutting of ancient forests resumed.

Under Horgan, the deadly game continues. After some 200 arrests at Fairy Creek, the premier now promises to defer logging on “part” of that timber licence and in the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. But that part is less than one-sixth of one per cent of the forest that needs protection province-wide.

Last year the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel gave the government an urgent message — defer logging on province’s last old-growth forests or risk losing the province’s remaining ecosystem health and diversity.

But Horgan didn’t listen.

B.C. has the nation’s richest biodiversity, containing 50,000 species — everything from ferns to fungi. Our forests nourish much of this diversity. Without that diversity the forest perishes and there remains nothing “super, natural” about this place.

But as these primary forests disappear into two-by-fours, wood pellets and raw log exports, B.C. is now seeing not only an extreme loss of species but the risk of multiple extinctions.

Salmon numbers have dwindled because they spawn in the headwaters of B.C. rivers where they need forest-shaded and sediment-free water. The health of our wild salmon and the integrity of our forests are one and the same.

It took 150 years to get to this reckoning. But the most extreme damage to once-bountiful forests has all happened in the last 70 years.

We liquidated ancient forests hundreds, even more than a thousand, years old, to “build the province” and export fibre. As the companies and machines got bigger, the primary forests shrank, rural communities began to grow poorer and fish and wildlife populations declined.

In this reductionist scheme, the government gambled that uniform tree plantations could replace complex ecosystems. These second- and third-growth forests aren’t as diverse or valuable, and now we are hunting the last great trees like buffalo.

Throughout the Fairy Creek blockade, Horgan has noted the Pacheedaht Nation supports logging in the territory and had called on the protesters blocking roads not to interfere. Government defenders have talked about the nation’s forest revenue-sharing agreement, sawmill and tenure.

Green MLA Adam Olsen, a member of the Tsartlip First Nation, shredded those claims. In a statement, he wrote that nations like the Pacheedaht have little choice but to sign take-it-or-leave it agreements “that provide limited benefits, do not affirm the human rights of Indigenous peoples, or recognize their rights.”

Clauses in the agreement, he writes, commit the Pacheedaht to “not support or participate in any acts that frustrate, delay, stop or otherwise physically impede or interfere with provincially authorized forest activities.”

But there is a bigger problem with these colonial agreements. The government offered the Pacheedaht no other economic alternatives or ecological choices other than logging their remaining heritage. Horgan has cynically called this political shell game “reconciliation.”

All of my life I have supported Indigenous rights and title. But using First Nations’ rights as a weak excuse for logging the last vestiges of biological diversity in this province and removing our best defence against climate change is morally wrong. It is also an insult to First Nations.

Horgan has accepted the Pacheedaht call for a two-year deferral of old-growth logging in Fairy Creek. But the Squamish Nation has called for a similar ban in its territory, and others are expected to follow. We’ll see how far the government’s claimed respect for Indigenous rights extends.

During this latest war in the woods, Horgan’s government has been in denial about another fundamental reality: the declining value of B.C.’s aging forest industry.

Two decades ago, B.C.’s forest industry employed 91,000 citizens: today it employs fewer than 50,000 people. The industry accounts for a paltry two-per-cent share of GDP. Forest revenue is forecast at $1.1 billion this year, less than two per cent of total government revenues.

An analysis by Focus on Victoria magazine found that operating the Forests Ministry — managing timber sales, fighting wildfires, tree planting and other expenses cost taxpayers more than $10 billion between 2009 and 2019. During the same period the industry produced direct government revenues of $6 billion. That’s appalling math, and even worse stewardship.

The industry has closed 100 mills since the late 1990s. And contrary to Horgan’s explanation, this has nothing to do with fires and pine beetles, but everything to do with allowing existing tenure holders to harvest too much wood, too fast.

Not surprisingly, the government, the steward of this grand mess, hasn’t even bothered to issue a report on the state and conditions of our forests since 2010.  

Meanwhile, the government has allowed the export of raw logs to China, Japan and Korea to grow to an average of six million cubic metres. That amounts to the export of an estimated 3,600 full-time manufacturing jobs every year. 

Unlike the industrial forest business, tourism generated $22.3 billion in revenue in 2019 and employed more than 130,000 people. The millions of visitors didn’t come here to view clearcuts, flooded valleys or destroyed salmon habitat. They came to see the very same “super, natural” beauty that the government seems dedicated to erasing on behalf of a few special interests. 

The time for half measures, intentions and denial is over. British Columbians have spoken: they want to protect what few sylvan elders remain and end the destructive travesty in our forests.  

The political tool is simple: a moratorium on the logging of the province’s remaining old-growth forests.

And while reducing the scale of the industry, why not create a special and innovative fund to pay First Nations and other communities to protect and monitor the health of our forests?  

One obstacle remains: we must drag a premier stuck in a 19th-century culture of exploitation into the 21st century. It is time to manage our forests for the survival of all living things. 

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These are monumental steps’: BC government approves old-growth logging deferral on Vancouver Island

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CTV News Vancouver Island
June 9, 2021

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has approved a request from a group of First Nations to defer old-growth logging in their territories on southwestern Vancouver Island for the next two years.

Premier John Horgan announced the province’s decision to approve the request on Wednesday, saying he was “very proud” to receive the deferral request and says more requests will be coming this summer.

The deferred lands include 884 hectares of old forests in the Fairy Creek watershed, near Port Renfrew, and 1,150 hectares of old growth in the central Walbran valley, near Lake Cowichan.

When asked if he thought the two-year deferral on roughly 2,000 hectares of old-growth forests would end the months-long protests in the region, Horgan was cautiously optimistic.

“I’m hopeful that those who have taken to the roads of southern Vancouver Island will understand that this process is not one that can happen overnight,” the premier said.

“I understand the importance of preserving these areas,” Horgan added. “But I also understand that you can’t turn on a dime when you’re talking about an industry that has been the foundation of BC’s economy.”

The Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations told the province on Saturday of their plan to postpone old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas while the nations develop long-term resource stewardship plans.

Horgan acknowledged Wednesday that his government’s approval of the deferral request comes at a cost to the forestry sector but said the anticipated impact on jobs is “modest in this area.”

“Over time there will be costs to moving in this direction but those are going to be dollars well spent,” Horgan said. “We’re changing the way we do business on the land and that is hard work.”

MORE LOGGING DEFERRALS COMING

Protesters have been blockading logging roads in the Fairy Creek area since August, preventing forestry company Teal-Jones from accessing the watershed. In April, the BC Supreme Court granted the company an injunction to have the blockades removed.

Since the RCMP began enforcing the injunction in late May, at least 194 people have been arrested, including more than two dozen arrests since the First Nations announced their deferral plans.

“These are monumental steps,” the premier said of the logging deferrals, noting that more deferral requests will be coming.

“These announcements are transformative for an industry that has been foundational to British Columbia’s success and will be foundational to our future success, but it has to be done a different way,” Horgan said.

“Today I am proud to have deferred these territories at the request of the title-holders and I’m very excited about the deferrals that will be coming later in the summer and all through the implementation of our old-growth plan,” the premier added.

Teal-Jones told CTV News on Monday that it would abide by the First Nations’ deferral request even before the province had accepted it.

“Teal-Jones acknowledges the ancestral territories of all First Nations on which we operate and is committed to reconciliation,” the company said.

The deferral prevents not just old-growth logging but all logging activities in the designated old-growth areas. It also prohibits the construction of new logging roads, however some maintenance and deactivation work may continue for safety and environmental reasons.

The First Nations say forestry operations in other parts of their territories will continue without disruption and they are asking protesters not to interfere with these approved operations. 

“Today, we welcome the decision by the Government of British Columbia to approve the request made by our three nations,” the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht said in a joint statement following the premier’s announcement.

“We expect everyone to allow forestry operations approved by our nations and the Government of British Columbia in other parts of our territories to continue without interruption,” the nations added.

 

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Pacheedaht First Nation tells BC to defer old-growth logging in Fairy Creek

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The Narwhal
June 7, 2021

The Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations are requesting a two-year pause on old-growth logging in two watershed areas while they work on stewardship plans informed by Indigenous priorities

The Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht First Nations have formally given notice to the province of BC to defer old-growth logging for two years in the Fairy Creek and Central Walbran areas on southwest Vancouver Island while the nations prepare resource management plans.

The notice comes as RCMP prepared on Monday morning to arrest protesters who have been camping in the Fairy Creek area since last summer in an attempt to prevent old-growth logging of the valley in Pacheedaht territory. More than 170 people have been arrested since forestry company Teal-Jones obtained a court injunction in April to allow the arrest and removal of protesters from access points to planned logging in the Fairy Creek area.

The nations announced on Monday that they have signed a declaration called the the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration to take back their power over their ḥahahuułi (traditional territories). 

“For more than 150 years they have watched as others decided what was best for their lands, water, and people,” said a statement issued by the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, which had already decided to defer logging of its treaty lands.

“This declaration brings this practice to an immediate end,” said the statement.

In an emailed statement, Teal-Jones said the company will abide by the declaration and looks forward “to engaging with the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations as they develop integrated resource forest stewardship plans.”

“Teal Jones acknowledges the ancestral territories of all First Nations on which we operate and is committed to reconciliation,” said the statement.

It was not immediately clear if the RCMP will continue to arrest people who are still blocking logging roads leading to the Fairy Creek watershed.

Pacheedaht First Nation chief councillor Jeff Jones said the three nations look forward to building a future based on respectful nation-to-nation relationships with other governments “that are informed by Indigenous history, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous rights and Indigenous priorities.” 

“We ask that all peoples both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learn and move forward together and that by working together we can realize a future that is fair, just, and equitable,” Chief Jones said.

The declaration states that the governance and stewardship responsibilities in the traditional territories of the three Nations must be acknowledged and respected, in accordance with the traditional laws and constitutionally protected Aboriginal Title, Aboriginal Rights and Treaty Rights. 

“Third parties — whether they are companies, organizations, other governments or individuals — have no right to speak on behalf of the Nations,” the statement said. 

“Moreover, for third parties to be welcome in their ḥahahuułi, they must respect their governance and stewardship, sacred principles, and right to economically benefit from the resources within the ḥahahuułi.”

Leaders from the three nations said they have made a commitment to their people to manage the resources on their ḥahahuułi the way their ancestors did — guided by the sacred principles of ʔiisaak (utmost respect), ʔuuʔałuk (taking care of), and Hišuk ma c̕awak (everything is one).

“We are in a place of reconciliation now and relationships have evolved to include First Nations,” Huu-ay-aht Tayii Ḥaw̓ił ƛiišin (Head Hereditary Chief Derek Peters) said. 

“It is time for us to learn from the mistakes that have been made and take back our authority over our ḥahahuułi.”

The declaration acknowledges that three sacred principles are often ignored and the Nations are “the last to benefit from what is taken out of the territory and the last to be asked what must be put back.”

The nations said they are already engaged in extensive stewardship efforts on their territories to “repair damage done in the past and to plan for future generations, drawing on sound data and information, best practices and science, and as always, guided by traditional values.”

Pacheedaht First Nation forestry manager Rod Bealing told The Narwhal there will be no more road-building in the Fairy Creek headwaters during the two-year deferral. “Our agreement is for no forest management activities,” Bealing said. 

“However, we do expect an appropriate amount of maintenance to be carried out to make sure that the roads are safe and that there is an appropriate level of environmental protection.”

In mid-April, the Pacheedaht asked protesters to leave their territory, saying: “We do not welcome or support ­unsolicited involvement or interference by others in our territory, including third-party activism.”

Premier John Horgan said his government has received the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration and deferral request issued by the chiefs of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

“These Nations are the holders of constitutionally protected Indigenous interests within their traditional territories. It is from this position that the Chiefs have approached us,” Horgan said in a media statement issued at 1 p.m. on Monday.

“We honour the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration. And we are pleased to enter into respectful discussions with the Nations regarding their request. We understand the request must be addressed expeditiously, and we will ensure a prompt response.”

Horgan said the government recognizes that the three Nations will continue to exercise their constitutionally protected Indigenous interests.

“Our government is committed to reconciliation. True reconciliation means meaningful partnerships. I know the three Nations are ready to enter into these discussions in a spirit of good faith, and with a goal of achieving a mutually satisfactory resolution. Our government is as well.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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